Tide and wave power.



E. FUCHS. TIDE AND WAVE POWER.

APPLIOATIOH FILED MA}. 6, 1909. 96$, Patented Aug. 30, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

E. FUCHS.

TIDE AND WAVE POWER. APPLIGATION FILED MAB.5, 1909.

968,930. Patented Aug. 30, 19 10.

2 SHEETSSEEET 2.

73b. 4% 2mm.

@FCE

ERNES'ED FUCHS, OE GUAJJALAJARA, MEXICO.

TIDE AND WAVE POWER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patent ed Aug. 30, 1910.

Appliceticr iled "iiareh 5, 1909. Serial No. 481,247.

1 is a side elevation of motor power apparatus constructed in accordancewith my invention, and Fig. is a plan or top view of the same part'lyinhorizontal section;

In the drawings, 1 represents the ocean bottom, a submerged sea beach,the bed of a river, or any surface over which there is a wave or tidalflow of sufiicient amplitude to warrant its use for the production ofpower.

Firmly mounted in the bed 1 are a series of vertical piles or columns 2forming a frame work or cage in which is free to rise and fall a float3, whose descent is restricted by suitable stops at on the columns 2 andwhose rise is restricted by spring-pressed plunger-s 5'also mounted uponthe columns 2 at such a distance above the stops e as may be required bythe maximum wave motion plus the amount of rise and fall of the tide, inthe event of the device being used both as a tide and wave motor, themove-v ment being correspondingly less if the movements .of the floatare due to the tide only or to the waves only.

Pivotally mounted at 6 upon one of the groups of columns 2 is apower-transmitting lever 7 which may consist either of a single memberor of a group of members acting as a unit, this lever-having pivotalconnection with a beam 9 -which also has pivotal connection with the topof the float 3, whereby, as said float rises and falls,'rocking movementwill be imparted to the lever 7, the extremes of this movement beingrepresented respectively by the dotted lines m and n.

The outer end of the lever is connected to two flexiblepower-transmitting devices 10 and-12. These power-transmitting devicesmay be cords, ropes, chains, belts, bands, or the like, either of metalon textile material, but I shall, for convenience, herelnatter allude tothem as ropes. The

-rope 10 extends upwardly from the end of the lever and is wound arounda drum 11 which is free to turn on a horizontal shaft 15 and the rope 12passes downwardly from the end of the lever 7 and around a sheave 13suitably mounted upon a fixed support and thence'up to and around a drum1 t in the same direction that the rope 10 is wound around the drum 11.v

Alongside of the drum 11 and secured to the same so as to rotatetherewith is a drum 11, upon vwhich a rope 10 is wound in adirection the'reverse'of the 'wind of the rope 10 upon the drum 11, and adjacent tothe drum 1%. and secured to the same so as to rotate therewith is a drumlet upon which a rope 12 is wound in a direction the reverse of the windof the rope 12 upon the drum 14:, each of the ropes 10 and 12 carrying,at itsdepending end, a weight 19.

Secured to the shaft. l5 outside of the drums 11 and 14* are ratchetwheels 16 and each of said drums 11 and 14 carries a spring-pressed pawl17 which-constantly enga es its respective ratchet wheel 16.

Rising movement of the float- 3 causes a downward swing of the free endofthe lever 7, thereby exerting a downward pull upon the rope l0 and acorresponding slackening of the rope l2, and downward movement. of thefloat causes an upward swing of the tree end of the lever, an upwardpull upon the rope 12, and a corresponding slackening the rope 10. v

The downward pull upon the. rope 10 causes movement of the drums 11 and11 in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1, and

this movement is transmitted to the shaft 15 through the medium of theratchet wheel 16 and the spring-pressed pawl 17 carried by the drum 11the latter at the same time winding up the rope 10 and raising theweight 19. At the same time the slackening of the rope 12 permits thedrums 14 and 14: to turn in a direction the reverse of that indicated bythe arrow in Fig. 1 under the influence of the weight 19 connected tothe rope 12, the spring-pressed pawl 17 on the drum 1 1 slippingbackwardly over the teeth of'the' ratchet Wheel 16 with which itengages.

WVhen upward pull is exerted upon the rope 12, the interposition of thesleeve 13 causes said rope to rotate the drums 14 and 14 in thedirection of the arrow shown in Fig. 1, so as to wind up the rope 12raise its weight 19 and cause the spring-pressed pawl on the drum 14 toengage and move forwardly the ratchet wheel 16 corresponding thereto,the rope 10 being slackened and the drums 11 and 11 caused to move in adirection the reverse of the arrow in Fig. 1, by reason of the downwardpull of the weight 19 upon the rope 10 the springpressed pawl 17 of thedrum 11 slipping over the teeth of its'corresponding ratchet wheel 16,and these operations are repeated solong as the float 3 is caused torise and fall by the action of the tides or waves, a substantiallycontinuous movement in one direction being imparted to the shaft 15.This movement may be utilized for the performance of useful workdirectly at the point where the motive power apparatus is erected or theshaft 15 may be continued to a point or points more or less remote fromthe motive power apparatus, and power utilized at such remote point orpoints. I prefer, however, to transmit the power from the shaft 15through the medium of bevel wheels 20, 21 and 22 to counter-shafts 23and 24, whereby it may be conveyed to the points at which it is to beutilized or may be used for operating other shafts whereby the power maybe stored, one such method of storing the power being illustrated in thedrawing and consisting in the lifting of heavy weights during whosesubsequent descent the power exercised in-lifting them can be utilized.

In Fig. 2 of the drawing, I have illustrated two such power-storingshafts 25, one on each side of the shaft 24. For each of said shafts 25there is on the shaft 24 a sprocket wheel 26 which can be clutched to orreleased from the shaft by means of a clutch 27 a chain belt 30connecting said sprocket wheel 26 with a sprocket wheel 29 on the shaft25, and said sprocket wheel having connected thereto a drum 31, fromwhich is suspended, by means of a rope 32, a heavy weight 33, whereby,when the sprocket wheel 26 is clutched to the shaft 24, power will betransmitted from said shaft to the shaft 25 so as to wind up the weight33, and when said sprocket wheel 26 is released from the shaft 24 thepower of the descending weight 33 will be exercised to turn the shaft 25and transmit such power to the point at which it is to be utilized. Ifind it preferable, however, to transmit the power through a secondshaft 34, the shaft 25 having a sprocket wheel 35 which can be clutchedto or released from it by means of a clutch 36, this sprocket wheel 35driving, by means of a chain 39, a sprocket wheel 37 on the shaft 34 sothat, by proper manipulation of the clutcinthe shaft 34 will be operatedonly during the falling of the weight 33 and not while the same is beinglifted.

A relatively frictionless rising and falling movement of the float 3 iseflected by providing the same with vertical banks or gangs ofanti-friction rollers 40 as shown in Fig. 1, these anti-friction rollersrunning in contact with races 41 mounted upon the columns 2 of the fixedca e or'frame work, as shown in Fig. 2. The float 3 consists of ahermetically sealed box or tank but the bottom of the float is dished asshown by dotted lines in Fig. 1 so as to provide therein a chamberprovided, at its top, with an outlet 42 through which air maybepermitted to escape from the chamber, the outlet being provided eitherwith an automatic check valve or with a manually operated valve,whereby, when the air-has once been ejectedfrom the chamber, inflowthrough the outlet 42 will not again be permitted. The purpose of thisconstruction is to equalize the action of the float on its rising andfalling movements. when the float first descends into the water the airis discharged through the outlet at the top of the chamber in the bottomof the float and the latter is filled with the water, hence the floatwill not begin to lift under the .influence of the rising wave ortide'until its displacement equals the weight of the volume of water inthe chamber plus the additional dead weight of the float, consequentlythe-wave acts upon the float when it is exerting its maximum I liftingpower and, as soon as the wave or tide falls away to such an extent thatthe I .float is once filled with water air cannot 'enter the chamber andthe water'cannot escape therefrom.

I claim: a

1. The combination of a float subject to the action of the waves ortides, a plurality of weights, and clutch-controlled mechanism wherebymovement of the float is caused to effect the lifting of the weightsalternately, whereby one weight may be lifted while the other weight isfree from the influence of the lifting devices, and is in condition todescend bygravity and transmit the power due to such descent.

2. The combination of a float subject to the action of the waves ortides, a plurality of weights, and clutch-controlled mechanism wherebyboth the rising,a11d fallin movements of 'the float are caused to effectthe lifting of the weights alternately, whereby one weight may be liftedwhile the other weight is free from the influence of the shaft can betransmitted to either of said lifting devices and is in condition todescend by gravity and transmit the power due to such descent. i

3. The-combination of a float subject to the action of the waves ortides, means whereby both the rising and falling move ments of saidfloat are transmitted to a shaft so as to cause substantially continuousrotation thereof, a plurality of weights, each suspended from a drum ona power storing shaft, and clutch-controlled mechanism whereby movementof the float-operated weight-carrying shafts to wind up the Weight, theother weight-carrying shaft being free'from the influence of saidwinding devices whereby its weight is in condition to descend by gravity'and rotate the shaft which carries it.

4. The combination of a float subject to the action of the waves. ortides and ballasted so as to exertsubstantially uniform power both onthe rise and fall, a plurality of whereby both the rising and fallingmovements of the float are caused to effect the lifting of one of saidweights while the other weight is free from the influence of theliftingdevices and is in condition to descend by gravity and transmit the powerdue to such descent.

' 5. The combination of a float subject to the action of the waves ortides and ballas'ted L sons to exert substantially the same power bothon the rise and fall, means whereby rising and falling movements of saidfloat are 1 caused to impart substantially continuous movement werotating shaft, a plurality of weights, each suspended from a drum on apower storing shaft, and clutch-controlled mechanism whereby movementof'the floatactuated shaft can be transmitted to either of saidpower-storing shafts so as to wind up the weight thereon, the othershaft being free from the influence of the float-actuated shaft, wherebyits weight is in condition to descendby gravity and rotate the shaftwhich carries it.

In a wave or tide motor the combination of a float so guided as to becaused to rise and fall under the action of the waves or tides, meanswhereby movement of said float is caused to rotate a power-receivingshaft, a power storage shaft having a clutchcontrolled connection withthe said powerreceiving shaft, and 'a'power-transmitting shaft having aclutch-controlled connection with said power storing shaft.

7. In a wave or tion of a fixed structure having vertical guides, avertically moving float engaging said guides, stops for limiting thedescent of the float, and spring-pressed means for restricting the riseof the float.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ERNESTO FUCHS.

' Witnesses:

SAML. E. MAGILL,

M .mcuLINo Hnnz.

tide motor the ,combina-

